


RPGSTUCK C4S11 Christmas Special

by Aiyaa



Category: Homestuck, RPGStuck
Genre: C4S11, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiyaa/pseuds/Aiyaa
Summary: A collection of short fics of the C4S11 characters doing Christmas shenanigans. AU in which they all live together. Some scenarios have more romance than others. Thanks to the crew for five months of fun!





	1. Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Eihwaz x Wally. More on Wally's side though, Eihwaz is indifferent towards romance at best.

Wally giggled to himself as he snuck down the hallway, mistletoe in hand. Eihwaz was _so_ not going to be ready for this!

What’s this? The door’s unlocked. Strange. Well, no harm peeking in, especially if it’s a certain tealblood.

He takes a look in and sees Eihwaz

shirtless

and getting ready to retire to his Sopor (Sapper? Soaper?) Troll Sleepy Slime.

But upon further observation he sees something even more shocking and that’s

scars

upon

scars

on his body. And at this Wally can’t help but give a small gasp.

A small gasp is all Eihwaz needs to pick up on the sounds of an invader in his room.

Wally is silent as teal bores into his soul.

“What is your business here.”

Normally, Eihwaz is never one for patience with annoying humans. On most days, he would tell Wally to leave him alone; on a good day, he’d add a few threats of existential annihilation before the empire. This time though, He was quite **cross** with Wally.

“I. Uh.”

Eihwaz approaches the door, intent on obscuring Wally’s vision from his abode.

“Uh what?” He’s leaning against a wall now, arms crossed (don’t look at his abs, _don’t look at his abs, not the abs_ ).

“I came to celebrate…uh…a Christmas custom with you!”

“Oh, the inferior version of 12th Perigee’s Eve?”

“It is totally not inferior! We have cool things to do too!”

“Whatever. Are you going to apologize for intruding upon my personal space or –“

His admonishment is cut off by another pair of lips on his own. The kiss is messily placed and tastes of

desperation and

curiousity and 

disgusting _sympathy_.

Wally lets go, and then follows up with an embrace.

“Hey. I don’t know what happened to you. And you don’t have to tell me. But I’ll tell you this: you’re worth a lot to the others and to me, and fuck whoever would hurt you like that.” There’s probably a lot more that he wants to say, but it would have to wait for another time.

Right now, he needs to focus on escaping with his life.

Eihwaz’s face is contorted in a very strange way, somewhere between flustered and enraged. Teal blood slowly paints his grey skin as he draws a dagger from his strife specibus.

Wally hightails away from the scene.

“WALLY, WHAT THE FUCK?!”

As Eihwaz rushes out of his room, too infuriated to even put on a shirt, he fails to notice the mistletoe hung up on his door frame.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The scars were caused by extensive torture. Wally has no way of truly knowing this, but he can reasonably assume the worst with what he's been told about troll society.


	2. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd and Arya fluff. Read it however you'd like.

Another item checked off the list. Another one down, enough left for a long night of shopping. They were the eldest only by a few years, but still felt responsible for going out and shopping. For tradition, if nothing else. Possibly only one who celebrated Christmas as a religious tradition was Wally, who mentioned a Catholic upbringing before. And with Wally, one never truly knew.

 Arya glances at the next item, which is…homoerotic adult fiction.

 With Wally, one never truly knew.

 “Reminds me of the first time I tried to send you a present,” says the copper-haired companion.

“That was also the last time.” The brunette bachelorette wastes no time in giving a rebuttal.

“That was quite a story, what with your Nazi regime father shutting the internet off for 2 weeks on end. We were pretty worried, you know.”

“Is that so.”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

_“Arya, what is this?”_

_The 50-something year old Iranian-Georgian man presents evidence. It is a seemingly harmless package, wrapped in blue paper and silver ribbon._

_“Perhaps it was sent to the wrong person, Baba?”_

_“Is that so?” He rips off the tag and slides it down the table._

 

_To: Arya_ _  
_ _From: Todd_

 

_Arya is at a loss for words._

_“Over to your room. Now.”_

_“But-”_

_The look in his eyes gives no opposition._

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

“Trust me, there was less to worry about on your end.” Arya winces, then massages her temples with a sigh.

“At least you don’t have to deal with that anymore,” says Todd, chuckling.

A little while longer passes in amiable silence. The two, instead of talking, opt to take in the atmosphere of the Christmas markets. Children running through the sidewalks, trying to eye good deals on video games or toys. Families strolling through, enjoying their time and in no rush. Couples in innocent embraces as well as...less innocent ones.

“You know, I still have that tag.”

“Hm?”

“Even if the present was taken from me, that was still the first thing I got from you.”

This catches Todd off guard. One one hand, he wouldn't expect most people to treasure such a thing. On the other hand, Arya was _exactly_ the type of person who would hold onto something that small if it came down to it.

“...What? I’m not a hoarder. You of all people should know that.”

Todd laughs, Arya smiles, and the two continue walking.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

“Arya...why are we here?”

“Oh? Oh.”

The cemetery is just outside the shopping center, in some kind of grim juxtaposition. It seems that Arya led the two of them there subconsciously.

“Let’s leave. I’m sorry for bringing us here.”

“No, it’s alright. Actually, could you take me to where your dad is, since we're already here?”

A deer caught in the headlights would have nothing on Arya at that moment.

“If you’re uncomfortable with it -”

She shakes her head. “No, let’s go.”

The two end up at a columbarium towards the back of the cemetery. The structure is quaint and unassuming, but carried still carried a distinct aura of uneasy calm.

“Here he is.” Arya gestures to a particular urn.

 

_Darios Barzan, died at age 59. May he finally find peace._

 

“Could you leave me in here for a bit? I’d like to say some things in private to him.”

Arya raises an eyebrow, but leaves the room anyway.

Todd clears his throat.

“Hello. My name is Todd Connor. I’m a friend of your daughter’s. You may recognize my name from that gift I sent years back. I study International Relations at Umbra Skipper University, and will be studying abroad in Germany this coming year. I plan on becoming a professor, or maybe even a diplomat. Some interests of mine include theater and swindling.”

 The urn gives no response, as expected.

“You know, Arya’s told me a lot of things about you. I can’t say I approve of all of it. You helped to give her a great grounding in education and general life skills, but at the cost of her happiness as a child. If I was a guardian, I don't know if I could make the same decisions. Nonetheless, I know that through all of it you had her best interests in mind. I wouldn't have Arya any other way. Rest in peace.”

He then exits from the columbarium.

 -+-+-+-+-

“Done?” Arya is leaning against a wall, pretending to be impatient.

He nods. “Were you listening in?”

She smirks. “I didn't need to.”

Todd rolls his eyes.

And with that, the two go back shopping. Though, Arya would get some strange looks upon purchasing Wally’s adult fiction, much to her chagrin.


	3. Vodka is Undrinkable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Olki have to cook Christmas dinner. But, before doing so, they decide to have a little fun.

“Alex! What’s up, my dude? You ready?”

 Olki, already slightly buzzed, answers the knock on his door. On his desk lie bottles of different types of alcohol and food. He’s already loaded up Episode 1 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. The plan was to have a bit of fun before preparing Christmas dinner.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

_Olki, completely sober, answers the knock on his door._

  _It’s Todd. “Hey.”_

  _“Hey. Need something?”_

  _The older male scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, turns out there were some mess-ups with the presents. So Arya and I are going out for some last-minute shopping. Could you guys prepare dinner this year? We have all the ingredients and recipes ready, all you need to do is cook.”_

  _Olki pinches the left the side of his glasses and gives a thumbs up._

  _Todd pats him on the shoulder, giving that award-winning Hollywood smile of his. “I owe you one, pal.”_

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Alex sighs. “You should put that out of sight before Arya comes back.”

 Olki shudders. Though Arya cared for them all dearly, she did not have the _kindest_ predisposition towards allowing large amounts of alcohol to minors. Todd, the other adult, was a bit nicer about it, but his reprimanding wasn’t _exactly_ fun. Olki had gone through too many pains to sneak some into his room. He winces thinking of the consequences of getting caught by either.

 “G-good point.” He hurriedly puts his alcohol in less obvious places while Alex closes the door.

 The latter retrieves a shot glass and looks up to see -

 “Olki, are you chugging that handle?”

 “Hey, might as well take nail polish in all in one go.”

 “Why did I decide to do this…” Alex pours himself a shot glass, then facepalms before taking it.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

The two were hammered by Episode 2.

 Olki giggles. “Dude, look at Koichi’s pose!” To his credit, the pea-sized highschooler in the opening really did awkward, posing by himself with no stand.

 Alex laughs and mutters something incoherent.

 By the end of the episode, the two are raging at the plothole.

 “Couldn’ bring ‘is grampa back, no matter th’stand! Bulllllshit, like, look at se-season 3’s ending!” Alex, though initially showing more reservation than Olki at the beginning of their binge, had by this point let his weak alcohol tolerance get the better of him.

 Olki laughs maniacally. Stronger alcohol tolerance wasn’t doing him much favors either.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

The two had stopped watching by episode 8.

 Instead, they were crying into each others’ arms.

 “D-dude...Why can’t we have like. Stands and shiiiiet…” Olki, starting off as a happy drunk, had over time grown more and more melancholy.

 “I-I,” Alex hiccups. “Getcha… Dude...is there like, a point in life?”

 “I, c-can’t say anymore. All we needa do is j-just get past th’tests soon.”

 Alex sobs into Olki. “Fuck school, man.”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

By episode 12, having the TV on was just a formality.

 “My dude...everyone’s so, what’s the word?” Olki hiccups. “Ah, high-strung.”

 There was hardly a dull moment in the house on 411 Hussie Avenue, but calm isn’t so bad to have all the time. The minors were enrolled in this fancy International Baccalaureate program, which was meant to promote the growth of “global scholars”. Very important in a growing new world, with species like trolls entering the fray. It had also caused an great stress to its students, though. Eihwaz worked through it, and Wally “memed away” his problems. People like Alex and Olki felt the stress more acutely, and on occasions like this had to let it out. Zyonne, for lack of a better term, didn’t care.

 The college students weren’t having the best time either. Luckily, Umbra Skipper was local and only 10 minutes away, so Arya and Todd could commute. They still spent much of their time studying and writing papers. There was more fun times and outings on the weekends, but the entire month of December was tense.

 Wally more often than not was locked away in his room, coming out to eat, only to retreat back into his den. Something about art and dreams. Eihwaz, though somewhat more social, was twice as irritable and snarky as usual. Zyonne was off being hyper with her athletic clubs and coming home late at night. Alex and Olki tried to keep the mood in the whole house from falling apart, with varying results.

 The two sat in silence, ruminating over these thoughts.

 Then, Alex remembers.

 “Y-yolk…” Even in his inebriated state, chills come immediately to his back.

 “Uwuh?”

 “...We forgot to cook dinner.”

 As he finishes, there is a knock on the door. Gulping and doing a quick prayer to Hirohiko Araki, Olki gets up and staggers over to his door.

 It’s Todd. “Hey.” He takes a look in the room, seeing food and alcohol strewn across the floor and Jojo on the television, disappointment growing every passing second. “...You’re lucky Arya is off dealing with Zyonne downstairs right now.”

 “T-todd, I’m _so_ sorry, I know you and Arya have a lot to deal with-”

 “If you really cared, you would have made dinner instead of getting drunk.”

 Todd was probably the nicest person in the house. But he could be just as savage as Arya sometimes.

 Olki’s eyes fail to meet the disappointed copper gaze. “We’ll...clean up. And be down there shortly.”

 “Please do.” Todd wastes no time turning around and heading downstairs.

 Again, his reprimanding wasn’t _exactly_ fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I wanted this to be a more lighthearted chapter


	4. How the Zyonne Stole Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zyonne doing Zyonne things.

With Zyonne Vasant, all conventional definitions of the word “normal” can safely be tossed out the window. She considers herself quite normal! She has fairly normal hobbies, loves spending time with the family, and lazes off when it comes to school. Here are some her choice pastimes:

-Getting exercise.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

_The jail cell opened as Zyonne was let out. Waiting for her was a very unamused Arya, no doubt embarrassed for getting called over to walk her charge out. Zyonne had enough decency to feel fairly ashamed._

_She looks up sheepishly and meets a glare of cold steel._

_“Okay, look. It was just a few cars. Is it really against the law to run through traffic? I gotta keep up on my cardio!”_

_Arya says nothing and continues walking._

-+-+-+-+-

 

-Playing with her toys.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

_It was a well-fought duel, and Eihwaz had definitely improved since their first duel together, before entry. She would almost say that it was a close fight, but that would be lying. All she needed to do (still) was land a single hit on him, and he’d go down Sentineliminator style._

_“Ready to lose, pretty boy?”_

_Zyonne smirks as she delivers her coup de grace -_

_\- which consists of driving a rapier right through Eihwaz._

_Olki, who had come outside to peacefully listen to music on his Walkman with a few fine sips of “water”, dropped his drink. He cups his face in shock._

_“OH MY GOD!!!”_

_Poor thing isn’t familiar with troll duels, is he?_

-+-+-+-+-

 

-Dying her hair.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

_Zyonne whistles as she mixes in the ingredients for her red hair dye. Some of this, some of that-_

_“Zyonne, is that b-blood?” Oops, left the door open. Now Alex can see what’s going on._

_“I’m...just making hair dye!” To his credit, blood was one of the ingredients for this particular mix._

_“Is it...human blood?” As much as she might tease him, Zyonne had to admit that Alex was pretty smart. Still rude to ignore her statement like that, though!_

_Zyonne opens her mouth to answer before Alex continues. “Y-you know what. I’m just. Going to leave. And l-let’s forget about this.”_

_Alex closes the door, and Zyonne shrugs. His loss._

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

As one can see, Zyonne Vasant is most definitely normal.

With that being said, today isn’t quite normal for her. By all means, it should be. Zyonne had already celebrated a Christmas with her friends before, after entry. She’s learned the ropes, basically seeing it as an inferior version of 12th Perigee’s Eve. The traditions are still fun, though! She’s made it a point to try to get some of everything each year.

Today was _exciting_ , though. That’s the difference.

Why, one may ask?

Why, because Zyonne was allowed to decorate the tree!

The others may not know, but Zyonne takes such matters seriously. She’s been scavenging the town for items to use as ornaments, picking only the finest and most quality items for use.

She looks at her collection thus far. Shiny ornaments of different shapes and sizes hang off the tree. Originally, she had a plan to gather precious valuables and gold accessories, but she was barred from doing so as that constituted theft. What a bunch of stiffs.

This is fine. But she needs more. This needs to be the brightest and shiniest Christmas to date, since none other than Zyonne Vasant is handling the tree.

And with that, she starts to make her rounds in the shopping center.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Huh? Is that...Arya? She and Todd had to go out earlier for some last minute Christmas shopping. What’s in those bags? It’s apparently a tradition not to know until you unbox the presents. Which Zyonne thought was stupid, why wait?

“Hey!” Well, only one way to find out. Forget decorations, this seems like a way juicier treat.

“Oh? Hello, Zyonne.” Arya seems to be in a good mood today, all things considered. Zyonne briefly wonders if it’s going to be spoiled by what happens next, but then dispels such thoughts. Her policy was “better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission”.

“Is Todd with you?” Checking to see if the coast is clear.

“He’s using the restroom currently.” Good, two on one might not end as well…

“Then I hope you don’t mind me, doing this!” With two deft movements, Zyonne is already off with the bags.

 **“Zyonne!”** Two voices? Well, looks like Todd is out now. Both are currently hot on her trails. Shame, she can’t stop to check out her sweet loot.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Whew, those two could give a good chase. But Zyonne was far from done!

Wait, is that Wally running around? And a shirtless Eihwaz behind him, dagger drawn? If circumstances were more favorable, Zyonne would laugh at them and take a picture of them. However, she had to suffice with a cackle for now.

One holy tradition that cannot be compromised however, is trolling Eihwaz.

Zyonne passes by and puts a foot out to trip Eihwaz. It works comically well, and the tealblood finds himself faceplanted into a nearby snowman.

His screams of rage are what give her fuel to keep running.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

The four of them are chasing after her now?! This isn’t good news. She’s almost a bit tired. Zyonne looks forward to where she’s ended up, which is...home. Well then. If two against one wasn’t bad enough, now she had over half the house against her. If brute force couldn’t win, then looks like she had to take one from Todd’s book.

“Quick, Wally! Shirtless Eihwaz behind you!” The teenager looks behind him, and there is indeed a shirtless Eihwaz. Wally takes in the latter’s features and clams up.

“You imbecile! Look in front -” Before he can finish his sentence, the two are knocked down by a well-aimed snowball.

...They’re not getting up? Maybe she hit too hard.

“Hey, Arya. I tasked Alex and Olki earlier with preparing dinner. I’ll go check on them.” Strategic retreat? An expected move.

“Please do.” Great, even playing field now. With Todd gone, Arya turns to Zyonne. “Zyonne, I would like you to give back the presents.”

“Nope! You gotta beat me in a fight first.”

Sighing, Arya draws her fire poker from her strife specibus. She must have realized by now that the only way to truly get through to Zyonne was through combat.

“Best Christmas present ever!”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Zyonne slumps on the ground, defeated.

Arya is similarly exhausted. Upon seeing Zyonne open her mouth, she speaks. “And no, this is not going to happen every year. Get Wally and Eihwaz inside.” With that, she picks up the presents and enters the house.

No regrets. Still the best Christmas present ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be the final chapter, but it got too long.


	5. How the Eihwaz Saved Boxing Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally and Eihwaz pitch in to save the day! Or rather, the day after,

In 411 Hussie Avenue, there are two generally accepted pillars of authority: Arya Barzan and Todd Connor. Though they happen to be eldest by about 3 or 4 years above most of the minors, their authority is derived more from their shared sense of responsibility and conflict resolution. There are no formal rules existed mandating their power, but general respect towards them keeps a system in place that all in the house seek to uphold.

  
It is possible to describe their mechanic as “good cop and bad cop”, but such an analogy would be flawed. Such thought is forgivable though; Todd’s kinder and more sociable person along with Arya’s stricter and harsher attitude would lead one to such a conclusion. In reality, their synergy shines most when dealing with conflicts or disputes in the house.

 

This is a rough approximation of what usually happens in such events:

-Todd’s more charismatic and sensitive nature allows for people to trust in him, allowing him to see the complete perspectives of multiple aggrieved parties. Thus, he gives a “diagnosis” of the problem.

-Arya’s critical disposition allows her to examine the people’s grievances, evaluate which parties should give more concession, and decide the steps to be taken towards reconciliation. In the end, she creates a binding resolution for everyone to work by, providing the “cure”.

 

Of course, hardly any conflict and its resolution can be so clean-cut. Arya and Todd share roles in the process, but the contributions of each tend more towards the opposing side of the “diagnosis-cure” spectrum.

 Such a system has had over a year to establish itself. It is young, but strong and growing. However, as many children will have growing pains, this system will have challenges to it as time passes on. Will it survive? Will it have to change?

 The Christmas of 2017 happens to be one such challenge testing the integrity of 411 Hussie Avenue’s pseudo-judicial system.

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

“I will review what went wrong today, in order of severity.”

 The whole room is silent. The different inhabitants have taken seats in a circle formation, arranged like chambers in a revolver. Arya has gone into “Lady of War” mode right now, and no one was eager to try stopping her in her tracks. Eihwaz checks the thermostat; it’s currently 23°C, but he swears it feels 10 degrees colder.

 “Wally, like a _lovestruck fool_ , hung up mistletoe on Eihwaz’s door. This provoked the latter into chasing him across town half-nude, with a _weapon drawn_.” Eihwaz, now with a shirt on, flushes in embarrassment. Wally is hiding his face.

 “Zyonne, though having completed her assigned task of decorating the tree, accosted Todd and I while shopping, and stole the presents. We had to chase her through town for _half an hour_ , after which I had to defeat her in a duel to regain what she took. Thankfully, only _a few_ presents were harmed.”

 Zyonne protests. “Hey, you’re making it sound like I did some mortal sin!” A swift glare from Arya shuts her down. “ _Sorry,_ ” she mutters.

 Arya continues on her warpath. “Finally, _Olki_ was _entrusted_ with the task of preparing dinner with _Alex_ . Instead of doing what was requested of them, they _willingly got intoxicated and watched Jojo for several hours._ ” Olki doesn’t even look up. He _swears_ that that one had more bite in it than the others. That was to be expected, unfortunately; Arya had no mercy for people who don’t make good on their word. Alex, of whom Olki is quite envious currently, is out cold.

 “Well? Have anything to say?”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Wally isn’t crying. He really isn’t. No, he’s not scared that he and Eihwaz may have gotten in jail if the police had gotten to them before Todd and Arya. No, he’s not guilty that he played a part in making Arya sad. And no, he’s definitely not afraid of Arya right now as she’s rebuking everyone in the room.

 No one could claim that Arya was nice when meting out the terms of a conflict resolution. Briefing the involved parties of what happened and reprimanding was usually Todd’s job, too. This probably meant that she was too angry to properly dish out punishments.

 Yet, for all her austerity, she was hardly ever mean-spirited.

 He briefly peeks up to look around. No one in the room is happy. Then, he notices Alex.

 Correction: no _awake_ person in the room is happy.

 Even Todd is sporting a grimace right now, instead of his award-winning Hollywood smile.

 “Well? Have anything to say?” If no one’s going to say anything...

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

For lack of a better word, Olki is terrified. It feels like he’s on the business end of a Star Platinum _ORA_ punch, delivered by a pissed off, god-slaying Jotaro Kujo. For anyone who doesn’t understand Jojo, that is pretty god damn terrified.

 He knows that he shouldn’t have gone so overboard earlier when he had obligations to do and feels really, really bad -

 Is that Wally standing up? And he’s...crying? Shit.

 “Arya…” She’s not even looking at Olki but he can still feel the northern wind blowing. “And Todd, too...Please, before we recreate Genghis’ campaigns in this room. I’d like you to hear me out.” Using history to appeal to them? That is...not a bad tactic. And it seems to be working, too. They’re not saying anything, so that’s permission to speak, right?

 Wally continues. “I know we fucked up. We fucked up bad this year. And I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be punished. I know that what I did was really selfish and irresponsible; if the wrong people caught Eihwaz and I, then we’d be in a celebrating Christmas in a jail cell. I deserve a goddamn punishment and I’ll gladly take it. But,” he sniffles a bit before continuing. “I’d like you two to consider something first. Take a look at everyone in this room. No one’s happy. No one’s been happy for this entire month, maybe longer.

 “Eihwaz has been acting way grumpier than usual. I’m being self-destructive and locking myself up in my room all day. Zyonne has been coming home way later than usual and has to be kicked out to sleep twice as often. And do you think that Alex and Olki drank so much because they were happy people? One of them probably failed a final or two, not that they’d tell anyone!

 “On your guys’ end, I know things haven’t been easy over at USU. Since midterms started, you two have been at it studying and writing papers or at your jobs. That’s really hard to do when you have balance that with handling 5 teenagers’ bullshit. It’s not fair, and for that I appreciate every second that you give us.

 “And Arya, I’d like to apologize to you personally. I know you had a very lonely childhood. Other than being told when and how to boss people around, you weren’t ever allowed normal contact with another person. Your stupid dad kept you from having friends right until he died! You value every single group interaction we have. I think that’s why you like to make us go on all those stupid outings, and that’s why you’re so angry this Christmas. You want us to bond with each other and get close, so no one has to feel like they’re outcasts in a cold world. On behalf of the minors of house 411, I am _so_ sorry for ruining your day and trampling over your ideals.”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

“I appreciate your heartfelt speech, Wally. But, does that solve our dilemma of what to do? We’re not in a good condition to celebrate Christmas.” It is not Arya who speaks, but rather Todd. “We can _cook the food_ and open presents, but Christmas does come only once a year. We can do this to celebrate New Years, but -”

 “Todd, if I speak?” Eihwaz pipes up.

 “By all means.”

 Eihwaz clears his throat. “ **Boxing Day** is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day. It originated in the United Kingdom, and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously belonged to the British Empire, including Canada. Boxing Day is on 26 December, although the attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place either on that day or a day later.

 I propose that we use tonight to recover. As stated previously, none of us are neither in the mood nor physical state to properly conduct Christmas celebrations. For once, I agree with Wally. I accept whatever punishment may be assigned. However, for the sake of convenience I would like to request that we hold festivities tomorrow under the name of Boxing Day, and postpone castigations to the day after.”

 Todd sits on the idea. “That...isn’t too bad of an idea. And how about while we’re at it, we can just use tonight to take a breather, talk, and let things out? I feel like we’re all fired up with what just happened.” The people seem to be murmuring in agreement, so the idea appears to be well received. “Arya, does that sound good to you, too?”

 Her cold fury is gone. Instead, a resigned smile lies on her face. “Yes, it does.”

 The room sighs in collective relief. “Alright, I’ll prepare tea and hot chocolate!”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

“Hey, Arya. Which one did you want?”

 “Tea sounds nice. But not now. I’ll go take a walk first. I’ll be back shortly.”

 “See you then. Don’t get too cold out there.”

 

-+-+-+-+-

 

Unnoticed by all but Todd Connor, Arya Barzan exits the house.

 Though a warm atmosphere of tea and hot chocolate, people gradually begin to talk. Bit by bit, that turns into laughter.

 Then, merriment.

 Then, the first true happiness in the house for a while.

 Eventually, Arya returns. Todd opens the door. He doesn’t ask what she thought about, because he already knows. She goes to the kitchen upon returning, to get her tea. She is welcomed back, and included right in the merriments as if she never left.

 Throughout this challenge, the house stayed whole and came out stronger. It would face many more trials in the future, and days later punishments were still delivered to the unruly teenagers who caused trouble Christmas Day. Yet, one fact stood proud above all others:

 

Tonight, all of 411 Hussie Avenue was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, enough sugar to give you cavities alongside diabetes.
> 
> Also, totally didn't rip the first half of that Eihwaz spiel from Wikipedia. Totally not.


End file.
